Les Indes Noires

James Starr, a distinguished Scottish engineer in his mid‑fifties, receives a cryptic invitation to visit the long‑abandoned coal fields of Aberfoyle, known locally as the “Black Indies”. The letter, sent from the remote Stirling post office, promises a hidden communication that could pique the curiosity of any man who has spent a lifetime probing the earth’s carbon veins. Though the mines have lain silent for a decade, with their machinery stripped and shafts left as skeletal remnants, Starr’s reputation as a leading figure in Britain’s industrial expansion makes the summons impossible to ignore.

Arriving in the mist‑shrouded Highlands, Starr is greeted by Harry Ford, son of the former overman who once oversaw the same tunnels. Together they begin to explore the dark, echo‑filled galleries, where rusted ladders and forgotten tracks hint at a past still clinging to the rock. Unexplained sounds and strange phenomena soon suggest that the abandoned pits may conceal more than just coal, setting the stage for an investigation that could reshape his understanding of the very ground beneath Scotland.